The present invention relates generally to rotary punch machines comprising punches and dies. More specifically, the invention relates to a tool for quickly and easily, removing worn or broken dies from the female wheel or ring of such a machine.
Rotary punch machines, of the type in which the present invention may be employed, are used to puncture paper to form, for example, tractor feed holes along the sides of a web of paper that is continuously fed to a computer printer. Such punch machines have a rotary, male wheel with a plurality of circumferentially spaced male punches and a complementary, rotary female wheel with a plurality of mating dies. The paper to be punched is fed between the rotary wheels.
Due to the high speed, high friction and other operating characteristics of rotary punch machines, the punches and dies break or wear out and need to be replaced. While the individual punches can be easily removed and replaced in the male wheel, the dies are seated in bores in the female wheel making their removal more difficult. The dies may become wedged in the bores due to the constant pounding exerted by the punches. Bits of paper, dust or other small particles may build up between the dies and the bore walls, also hindering removal. The dies are flush or only slightly elevated with respect to the female wheel making them difficult to grasp when they are to be extracted from the female wheel.